Ladbrokes takes big hit in 2013 full year results

Ladbrokes plc chief Richard Glynn said he remains optimistic despite a plummet in 2013 group pre-tax profits of 66 percent, a 26 percent drop in profits from its UK retail business and a 74 percent drop in profit from its digital division during its 2013 fiscal year.

Key performance indicators for the year ending December 31, 2013 include:

–   Group net revenue down 0.6 percent
–   Pre-tax profits fell 66 percent  to GBP 67.6 million (2012: GBP 200.7 million)
–   Group operating profit of GBP 138.3 million, down 32.9 percent
–   Underlying earnings per share down 36.4 percent to 11.7 p
–   Full year dividend maintained at 8.9p (2012: 8.9p)
–   Full year exceptional costs of GBP 51.6 million largely driven by costs of transition to Playtech products and platforms, business restructuring and impairment of shop licences
–   High Rollers contributed GBP 5.9 million of operating profit (2012: GBP 30 million)

Richard Glynn, Chief Executive, commented:

“While our financial results for 2013 were disappointing, we made real operational progress which has continued into this year. We remain confident about the direction of the business and the momentum we are creating.

“As we have made clear, H1 is about delivery and H2 is about growth. Our immediate focus is on the completion of our remaining platform, product and capability upgrades, notably single wallet and CRM, which will begin to deliver tangible benefits from the World Cup onwards.

“The early evidence from our changes to the desktop sportsbook and to our mobile offer are encouraging, giving us confidence that where our product upgrades and improved capabilities converge behind our brand, we have a powerful proposition. We look forward to competing even harder through the course of this year.”

Ladbrokes plc has issued four profit warnings over the past twelve months saying the migration to Playtech technology had caused greater disruption than expected (see previous reports).

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